Economy Perks Up After 217,000 Jobs Added In February

NEW YORK (AP) — Stock futures reversed course and pointed to a higher opening Wednesday after a report said that private companies are adding more jobs than economists had expected.

Payroll-processor ADP said that private-sector employment increased by 217,000 from January to February on a seasonally-adjusted basis, well above the 180,000 new jobs that analysts had predicted. The report suggests that the government's employment report, released Friday, may show that the unemployment rate fell below 9.0 percent.

Stock futures had been pointing lower before the ADP report as oil prices continued to rise. Crude oil prices rose to $100.47 a barrel ahead of the opening of the U.S. stock market.

Oil prices have surged over the last week, pushing the price of gas at the pump up nearly 20 cents a gallon over that time.

Stock indexes fell Tuesday after Chairman Ben Bernanke said that persistent high oil prices could threaten the pace of the economic recovery by increasing transportation costs for businesses and cutting into consumer spending.

Bernanke will testify Wednesday for a second straight day on Capitol Hill, this time to the House Financial Services Committee.

NEW YORK (AP) — Stock futures reversed course and pointed to a higher opening Wednesday after a report said that private companies are adding more jobs than economists had expected.
Payroll-processor ADP said that private-sector employment increased by 217,000 from January to February on a seasonally-adjusted basis, well above the 180,000 new jobs that analysts had predicted.

NEW YORK (AP) &mdash; Stock futures reversed course and pointed to a higher opening Wednesday after a report said that private companies are adding more jobs than economists had expected.
Payroll-processor ADP said that private-sector employment increased by 217,000 from January to February on a seasonally-adjusted basis, well above the 180,000 new jobs that analysts had predicted.